1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for improving communication sound quality in a mobile terminal. More particularly, the present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for removing a noise that negatively impacts a user's voice signal in a mobile terminal.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, mobile terminals have become indispensable necessities to modern people and are used regardless of age or sex. Accordingly, service providers and terminal manufacturers are competitively developing a plurality of ever increasing products and/or services for such mobile terminals in an attempt to distinguish themselves from other competitors.
For example, the mobile terminal has developed to a multimedia apparatus that can provide a phonebook, a game, a Short Message Service (SMS), an Electronic (E)-mail, a morning call and/or alarm feature, a Motion Picture Expert Group (MPEG)-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer-3 (MP3) player, a schedule management function, a digital camera, and a wireless Internet service, in order to provide a variety of services.
The mobile terminal is a device that has developed mainly for the purpose of voice communication and should accurately transfer a user's voice to a counterpart user and accurately receive the counterpart user's voice.
Conventional mobile terminals have accomplished the above purpose by improving communication quality but in the case where a neighboring/external noise and a user's voice signal co-exist, a technology for removing the neighboring noise is poor.
Typically, the mobile terminal uses an Automatic Gain Control (AGC) function for removing only a neighboring noise which has a lower volume than a user's voice in order to remove the neighboring noise. The reason behind removing only sound with a lower volume is because it is difficult for the mobile terminal to discriminate the user's voice from the neighboring noise.
In addition, the mobile terminal may exhibit a reduction in communication sound quality due to a noise caused by internal power and thereby cause a great deal of inconvenience to a user.
Therefore, there is a long-felt need in the art for an apparatus and a method for discriminating a user's voice from a neighboring noise in a mobile terminal and removing a noise caused by internal power of the mobile terminal.